Biography
The life of Father Joseph the Hesychast is an example of a true ascetic lifestyle. His path to acquiring Divine grace was long and thorny, but this is precisely what made him one of the most spiritually developed people of our time.
Athonite Elder Joseph the Hesychast
Childhood and youth
In November 1897, in the village of Lefka, located in the central part of the Greek island of Paros, a boy was born to the family of Georgios and Maria Kottis, who was named Frangiskos. In addition to him, there were five more children in the family. Their parents, who were simple peasants, instilled in their children a love of work from an early age.
The family led a pious lifestyle, instilling Christian virtues and obedience towards elders in their children. In 1907, the head of the Cottis family died. All worries about six children fell on Maria’s shoulders. To help his mother, Frangiskos stopped going to school.
At the age of 15 he went to Piraeus. He worked in a port city before joining the army. Returning from service, the young man settled in Athens, where he worked hard, helping his family who remained on the island.
At this time, he became interested in books describing the spiritual exploits of great ascetics. The young man had a desire to embark on the path of monastic service. He took the first steps on this difficult road on his own, but, without a wise mentor, he often made mistakes.
In 1921, Frangiskos met an old man who helped the young man choose the right path. After some time, he decides to leave the secular world and go to the island of Athos.
Interesting: the mother of the future Athonite elder said that from early childhood she knew about her son’s important destiny, since she received a sign from God. One day she saw an Angel who wrote the name of Frangiskos in a certain light scroll.
Youth
The young man, who had read many biographies of holy men and church fathers, expected to see similar righteous people on the Holy Island. But his expectations were not justified, since the Athonite monastic communities by the beginning of the 20th century. have lost their original traditions. Striving to follow the Athonite tradition of strict obedience, Frangiskos joins the brotherhood led by Daniel of Katunaki.
Soon the young novice realizes that the knowledge he receives in the community is not enough for him. For a long time he passed from one elder to another, trying to find a spiritual mentor. These searches did not bring results, and the novice decided to accept the feat of hermitage. He lived in caves, indulging in prayers and righteous labor, with which he earned his living.
Cave of the Athonite Elder Joseph the Hesychast
After some time, Frangiskos met the monk Arsenios, who also sought to know the Lord and was looking for a mentor in this difficult matter. Together, the young monks wandered around the island until they found a mentor in the person of Elder Ephraim of Katunaki. The elder taught the young people mental prayer and the rules of monastic asceticism.
In 1925, the young novice took monastic vows and took the name Joseph. After the death of their mentor, Joseph and Arseny continued their wanderings, but every winter they returned to kaliva, located not far from the monastery of Basil the Great.
Interesting: after the death of Elder Ephraim, Joseph became the head of the brethren, since Arseny recognized that the young monk was significantly superior to him in the matter of acquiring God’s Grace.
Mentoring
After some time, the brethren found a new mentor, Daniel the Silent. Following his example, the monks began to eat once a day, content with water, bread and vegetables. The elder supported Joseph in the fight against worldly temptations, teaching the young monks many positive Ionic qualities.
Gradually, the community of Joseph the Hesychast increased. Young and adult monks came to him, wanting to hear his wise sayings and instructions. Among the elder’s students was his brother Athanasius.
Joseph’s mother also followed the path of serving the Lord, taking monastic vows and joining the Ionian women’s community, organized by her son near the settlement of Drama. After returning to Mount Athos, Joseph continued to instruct and support the nuns, sending them his thoughts in letters.
The attention of others weighed heavily on Joseph and Arseny. They found a small kaliva and arranged 3 rooms in it. The brethren also renovated the small church of St. John the Baptist. The brothers led a quiet life, filled with prayers and labors.
The Complete Works of Joseph the Hesychast
But young monks began to come here too, looking for a wise mentor in the person of Joseph the Hesychast. The hut could not accept all willing novices. Joseph moves closer to the shore to the kaliva of the Holy Unmercenaries, located in the New Skete. A monastic community was formed here, which, in addition to Joseph the Hesychast and Arseny, included the following monks:
- Ephraim of Philotheia;
- Joseph of Vatopedi;
- Hieromonk Haralampiy;
- Ephraim Katunakisky.
Joseph and Arseny continued to lead a strict ascetic lifestyle, passing on their knowledge and experience to the monks who came to them.
The end of the earthly journey
In 1958, Elder Joseph’s physical strength began to leave him. A large, painful abscess appeared on his neck. Despite the brothers' entreaties, the mentor refused to seek medical help. But his health continued to deteriorate, and Father Joseph turned to doctors for help. At the beginning of 1959, he developed heart problems. The elder’s earthly journey ended on August 28, 1959.
Interesting: Father Joseph foresaw his departure and knew exactly its date. This allowed him to take communion and attend the festive liturgy.
Our teachers and their lessons
– Do you personally know the disciples of St. Joseph - Father Ephraim of Arizona and others - or the disciples of his disciples? If yes, then tell us about them, please.
– We had the good fortune to meet the spiritual child of Father Joseph, whom we found - Father Ephraim of Philotheus (Arizona). A popular documentary film was made about him, a lot is written about him, and his books have also been published in both Georgian and Russian. In general, as the Lord teaches us, “a tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33; Luke 6:44) - and look, what is the fruit of Father Joseph!
It is very difficult to establish monasteries of the type in America that Father Ephraim created. His missionary work was very unconventional: he did not know English; As a rule, he missionized verbally to a lesser extent; the main tool of his missionary work was internal prayer.
And the fact is obvious. The monasteries he created are simply amazing, especially the monastery he built in Arizona. The monks there are filled with joy, constantly praying and taking communion. The missionary work of these monasteries, like the missionary work of Father Ephraim, stems from the way of life.
Truly the candle lit on the table and the city built on the top of the mountain were Father Ephraim and his brethren in America and truly an example of how missionary work should be done. And there is nothing new in this: the Lord teaches us to be the light of this world, and our light should shine so that, seeing it, other people also begin to seek God (see: Matt. 5: 14-16). That candle that burns in our heart from the Christian faith must, as the Apostle Peter says, turn into the sun, into the dawn (see: 2 Pet. 1:19). And Father Ephraim was the kind of person who in his heart turned that candle that burns in the heart of every Christian into the sun. And he turned it into precisely that practice, devoted adherence to the school that Father Joseph founded. And in his life we read how it was. This is what Father Ephraim says, for example: “The purpose of our life, its meaning was in the Jesus Prayer, we breathed it.” They lived it, that's the point! In addition, they had an intense Eucharistic life - and the result is obvious.
What else can I say? Those who read Father Ephraim’s book “My Life with Elder Joseph” probably remember what a sense of humor he had. And he maintained this humor until the end of his life. And when we met with him, it was still felt. Although the old man was already in deep weakness, he had this simple humor caused by happiness, a happiness that he constantly carried within himself.
At the same time, some kind of strength was felt in him: when he passed somewhere, there was a desire to press against the wall. But he had a small body, one might say that he was fragile, like a sparrow, but he had great inner strength. Yes, someone may say that this is a purely psychological moment based on his authority, but still everyone noted that he was endowed with some amazing inner strength.
You know, even if there is a psychological element here, you can’t escape the facts. A man comes to America and, in a not so long period of time, founds as many as 18 monasteries! What is it like to found at least one such monastery, especially in a country where Orthodoxy is far from the main religion? Even using the example of Georgia, I can say that it is quite difficult to do - to found monasteries of this type. Therefore, the feeling in Elder Ephraim of this force cannot be considered a purely subjective moment - it was a reflection of objective reality. This is our opinion.
As for the other disciples, thank God, we have communication with Father Paisios (Papaioanu), abbot of the monastery in Arizona; also with the rector of Vatopedi, Father Ephraim, from whom we learned a lot; also with Bishop Athanasius, Metropolitan of Limassol, from whom we learn many things.
What can you say about them? I will emphasize: I want to talk about the Liturgy performed by these people and the clergy trained by them. We know, we have all read how Saint John of Kronstadt served the Liturgy. The way he served, no one served like that, his contemporaries remember. Unfortunately, today we cannot see or hear how this great saint, one of my most beloved saints, served. But still the conclusion suggests itself that the service can be held more majestic or less majestic.
What characterizes this school is the way in which worship is performed. How is it shown? Not in form, of course, but in something internal, in some nuances that are difficult to convey in words. This is extreme reverence for the altar, this is extreme freedom combined with reverence, but not in forms, of course. I mean inner freedom.
The amazing intonation of the voice, which is not artificial, but absolutely natural and comes from the heart, and this indicates the hesychast state of the ministers, the existence of hesychast practice among them. Ideally, the Liturgy is the crown of hesychast practice, and it should be so.
If a person does not have the experience of going deeper into himself, of searching for God within himself, then the Liturgy he performs will naturally be of a more external nature and it will help less people who are called to participate in the Eucharistic service. In the service of those whom I have listed, and in the service of their pupils, this is precisely what is implied: service performed with an inner hesychast mental attitude. That's how I perceive it.
We learned a lot from them. I repeat once again: this learning is not just verbal: write something down, someone told you something. You need to touch it, it is transmitted through touch. I told you about Father Ephraim that he had amazing inner strength, and you could feel it. Communication with such people once again confirms the truth that the principle of succession in spiritual life - from mentor to spiritual child - is extremely important. Because there is a lot that you simply cannot read from a book. No matter how it is written, it cannot be perceived. Much is perceived simply by touch: you need to come, see, touch and experience. Therefore, I always advise those who ask, especially those who wish to serve in monasticism or the priesthood in the future, who study in theological educational institutions, that they must have a certain connection with representatives of this school. It is very important.
The influence of Elder Joseph the Hesychast on the life of Athos
Elder Joseph considered the main purpose of his life to be serving the Lord, but his life influenced a whole generation of Athonite monks. The elder’s disciples participated in the restoration of the following Athonite monasteries:
- Vatoped;
- Filofey;
- Monastery of St. Dionysius;
- Xyropotamus;
- Constamonite;
- Caracal.
Followers of Joseph the Hesychast founded 20 monasteries in the USA, Greece, Cyprus and Romania. Elder Joseph taught his students the following ideas:
- Monks should indulge in the mental Jesus Prayer, since it is the main condition for spiritual growth.
- Monks and laity should frequently partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The elder said that during this sacrament people come closer to God’s Grace and are rewarded with divine revelations.
- Monastic life is a constant struggle against worldly temptations and demonic temptations. The main weapon of a monk is humility, work and unceasing prayer.
The messages to the monks are contained in the complete collection of works, which are read by young monks as a reference book and reading during joint meals.
To the same young man about prayer, as well as answers to questions
Your ardent desire to benefit your soul makes me happy. And I long to benefit everyone who seeks salvation. Therefore, pay attention, my dear and beloved brother. The purpose of human life from the very moment of his birth is to find God. However, he will not be able to find Him until the Lord Himself finds him first. “In it we live and act.” Unfortunately, passions close the eyes of our soul, and we cannot see with them. But when our much-loving Lord turns His active gaze on us, it is as if we awaken from sleep and begin to seek salvation.
Regarding your question. The Lord saw you, He illuminated you and guides you. Stay and work where you are. Continue to pray continuously, both mentally and verbally. When the tongue gets tired, pray with the mind; when the mind gets heavy, let the tongue begin again, just don’t stop. Confess often, stay vigil at night as much as you can. And if you see how love for God burns with flame in your heart, if you want hesychia (peace) and cannot remain in peace, because prayer is burning in you, then write to me and I will tell you what to do next. But even if grace does not act in this way, and your zeal and desire results only in keeping God’s commandments regarding your loved ones, be calm, remain in peace where you are and everything will be fine with you. Don't look for another. You will understand the difference between thirty, sixty and a hundredfold fruit (Matthew 13:8), which you read about in the lives of the saints. There you will find many more stories that will bring you great benefit. And now about other questions: prayer should be said with an “inner voice.” But since the mind is not yet accustomed to this at first, it forgets about prayer. That is why I say that you need to alternate the way you pronounce prayer: sometimes with your mind, sometimes with your tongue. Do this until the mind is filled with prayer, and grace begins to act along with it itself. This action of grace is the joy and delight that you feel in yourself when you pray and want to pray without ceasing. Then the mind is absorbed in prayer, and it happens without any compulsion on your part. This is called "visiting" the work of grace because it works itself. A person walks, sleeps, wakes up, but internally he cries out prayer incessantly. He is peaceful and joyful.
Regarding the time for prayer. Since you are in the world and have various concerns, pray at any time as soon as possible. But constantly encourage yourself to do this, so as not to fall into negligence.
Spiritual life has three stages, and grace acts in a person according to his spiritual development. The first degree is called Purification. At this stage, a person is cleansed of passions. What you have now is called cleansing grace. It leads to repentance. All spiritual desire appears in a person solely under the influence of grace. And nothing from the man himself. She operates secretly everywhere. If a person progresses in mental prayer, he receives another grace, which is completely different from the previous one. As we have already mentioned, that grace is called cleansing grace, and the one who prays feels its presence in himself. The second form is called Enlightening grace. At this level, a person receives knowledge and ascends to the Vision of God. This does not at all mean seeing lights, images or fantasies, but means transparency, clarity of mind and purity of thoughts. In this case, a person needs peace, silence and unmistakable guidance to pray. The third level is Covering grace, perfect grace, a truly great gift. There is no need to write about this yet, however, if you want to know something more about this, I wrote, despite my illiteracy, a small handwritten work, you can find it. Also buy the book of St. Macarius of Skoinsky, and even the ascetic teachings of St. Isaac the Syrian, and you will receive great benefits. Write to me about your conditions and changes, and I will be happy to answer you. All these days I constantly write to those who ask me about mental prayer. These are people from Germany, America, France and there are a lot of them. But why are we, who have everything right here at our feet, why are we so careless? Is it really difficult to constantly repeat the name of Christ so that he will have mercy on us?
Nowadays, the world has adopted the evil and insidious idea that praying is dangerous and unnecessary in order not to fall into delusion, but in the end, on the contrary, he himself remains in delusion.
If there is anyone who wants mental prayer, let him do it. And prayer done for a long time will bear fruit. And man will find heaven within himself. He will receive freedom from passions, he will become that “new man”. And if at this time he is in solitude, - oh!, oh!, it is impossible to describe the fruits of prayer.
The gift of comfort in pain
In one of the temples of Athos.
Photo from the site widgetserver.com During the struggle with temptations, with oneself, the body of Fr. Joseph was overwhelmed by suffering, he began to get sick and tired often. From grief because of the novices, one becomes despondent and sometimes almost despairs. Faith remained, but it could, by God’s permission, weaken.
One day Fr. Joseph, going through such a time, prayed and “saw” a light in his cell, and then the Lord nailed to the cross. Blood flowed from Christ's hands and feet. Father Joseph heard a voice: “Look at Me, how much I have endured for you. But you cannot endure even one sorrow?”
And after this, all the heaviness in Fr.’s soul. Josepha has completely disappeared. Since then, he received the gift of comforting in sorrows, temptations, and torments.
Father Joseph said: “Bear with your brothers’ mistakes so that they too can bear yours. Love to be loved and endure to be tolerated.
The bridge we all cross is forgiveness of the guilty, and if you don’t forgive the guilty, you destroy the bridge you were supposed to cross.”
After the death of his mentor, Joseph took over the responsibilities of leading the community.
In the last years of his life, Elder Ephraim labored in the monastery of St. Basil the Great, and it was there that he introduced himself. After the death of his mentor, Joseph himself took on the responsibilities of leading and managing the community.
After the two elders were left without a mentor, they began to wander around the territory of the holy Mount Athos. The elder himself also said that at this time he was experiencing temptation from fallen spirits.
Athonite elders and their instructions
One day, in his vision, he saw a formation of monks who were preparing to engage in battle with the demonic hordes. The period of his struggle with demonic attacks lasted about 8 years.
Soon he met another good, kind and wise mentor - Daniel, who asceticised near the Great Lavra, in the cell of St. Peter of Athos. It was from him that Joseph adopted many good positive traits.
It was thanks to him that he began to live an even more strict life. He limited himself to eating only once a day, and also increasingly sought to cope with his own laziness.
Lion in the desert
The future Geront Joseph in his youth.
Athens, 1920s Photo from theodromia.blogspot.com O. Joseph is not a textbook saint at all. Firstly, I never lived in a monastery, did not have a permanent mentor - I couldn’t find one, although I really looked for it. In the search, I got into trouble, because I often took on feats that exceeded my strength. He suffered a lot of grief because of his mistakes.
In his youth, Francis (that was Father Joseph’s name then) read many biographies of saints and always strove to repeat their exploits. There was a case when on a winter night he climbed a tall tree, remembering David of Thessalonica, and wanted to pray there until the morning. Before this, I ate almost nothing for several days and hardly slept.
Towards morning his strength left him, and he fell fast asleep. When he woke up, it turned out that everything was covered with a thick layer of snow, and he himself was almost numb. Laughing at himself, Francis climbed down to the ground and warmed up. And then he made the right conclusion: you can’t climb trees, you can pray at home.
On Athos o. Joseph came at 24 years old. He was strong, like a lion (“When I was in the world, I could fight with a bunch of people, I had the heart of a lion,” he wrote about himself to his students). And he found himself in a situation that was very dangerous for the monk: when his spiritual abilities, strengths and demands were very high, higher than those of many of the fathers with whom he met, and there was no structure and understanding of spiritual life, its traditions, knowledge, experience. .
There were confessors who believed that he was “in delusion,” and there were those who simply tried to warn against mistakes and advised him to walk “cautiously.”
But “prudence” then often meant a life of obedience, work, and worship. And about the main thing in the life of a monk - prayer, real, “smart”, connecting with God, few could speak, much less teach.
The monastic golden rule of humility - “if you see a monk climbing to heaven of his own free will, grab him by the leg and drag him down, for by doing this you will bring him great benefit” was firmly remembered on Athos, but boldness and understanding - that in front of you is a man of remarkable abilities , striving for God like a rocket and ready to pay many sacrifices, was not enough.
But there was the most important thing that helped Fr. Joseph to emerge alive from “spiritual traps”: God always sees a person’s heart.
And o. Joseph, for all his immensity, never strived “for holiness.” He was simply looking for Christ, the way to Him.
Or, according to monastic concepts, there was a lot of dangerous pride and arrogance, but there was even more love for God. And the Lord helped his ardent, inept disciple, often allowing him to survive the most bitter trials.
Soon Arseny and Joseph settled down - in the monastery of St. Anna in a cave under a cliff
Soon, Father Arseny and Joseph find an abandoned kaliva, and this becomes their next place of exploits. This kaliva was located in the small monastery of St. Anna, in a cave under a cliff. From various available materials, they began to build themselves a small hut, which included only 3 small rooms.
In this image we see the monastery of Joseph the Hesychast, which he built for himself with his own hands
The location was not entirely convenient; they constantly lacked living quarters. But later other ascetics - young monks - began to join them.
Soon the Reverend Elder Joseph decided to move a little closer to the coastline. The kaliva in honor of the Holy Unmercenaries, which was located in the new monastery, was chosen for this purpose.
Hunger strike about. Afanasia
Elder Joseph (center) with his disciples.
Photo from diakonima.gr K o. Joseph's disciples tried to come to him, although there were ambiguous rumors about him. But the regime of life of the two fathers was so harsh that the students left very soon.
And yet, over time, a small community emerged. There are a lot of disappointments about. Joseph transferred it from his disciples. People begged to accept and promised to obey, and then did everything to force themselves to listen.
But there were also just funny cases.
Once one of Father Joseph’s disciples, Athanasius, went on a hunger strike because he did not see success in his monastic life. He decided to starve to death.
Elder Joseph did not oppose Father Afanasy’s refusal to eat and said: “Let him do what he wants.” The hunger strike lasted a week. On the eighth day, Elder Joseph said to him: “Eat something, Athanasius!” In response, Father Afanasy objected: “Let the lousy dog die!”
Then Elder Joseph asked Father Arseny to prepare their holiday dish: fried flatbread with cheese. When the flatbreads were served, everyone except Father Afanasy began to eat. And Father Afanasy’s mouth began to water. And he asked the elder: “What should I do? I’m still not dying!”
The elder replied: “Well, since you are not dying, then eat.” Father Afanasy agreed: “I’m not dying! We'll have to eat!" And he ate seven flatbreads, and would have eaten more if Father Arseny had not gotten tired of frying them.
The life of Joseph tells us that he was born on the island of Paros, in the village of Lefke
The life of Joseph tells us that he was born on the island of Paros, in the village of Lefke on November 2, 1897. His parents were great workers. They all lived a righteous life.
From childhood, they taught their children to live piously. After the boy's father died, his mother took over all upbringing. Since there were six children in the family, the family had to face great difficulties.
Due to the death of his father, the boy was never able to complete his primary course at school.
In 1914, Frangiskos left for another city in search of income for his family.
Soon he was called up for military service. After his demobilization, he takes a job in Athens. Many sources provide different information. Some sources say that the boy worked as a cook, while other sources say that he worked as a tram conductor.
When a boy turns 20, he begins to show interest in various spiritual literature, he begins to be inspired by the lives of various saints of God. And he tries as much as possible to become like them.
After Joseph labored in the monastery, many people began to flock to him
Then Joseph also labored in the monastery of St. Basil the Great. Many other ascetics soon began to gather around him, and thus a kind of monastic brotherhood was formed.
Monastic brotherhood of Elder Joseph the Hesychast
From 1929 to 1930, the elder often left Athos. This was necessary due to the tonsure of his own mother as a monk, as well as the founding of a nunnery in the Drama region.
In 1921 - Frangiskos decides to become a monk
In 1921, Frangiskos met an elder who gave him a number of good advice. It was after this that the boy decided to become a monk.
To imitate the example of many holy fathers, he distributed his property to the poor and went to Athos. When he arrived on Athos, he hoped that he would see those very ascetics about whom he had read the life, but instead of all this he met only disappointment.
Elder Joseph the Hesychast with his brethren in the monastery on Mount Athos
As the elder himself said, this brought him into a state of mournful crying. At first, the ascetic decided to join the supporters of Elder Daniel, and for some time he was among their brethren. But after some time he decided that he needed to live a more secluded life, and retired from this fraternity.
So that every right goes away
“Do you know what it's like to be blessed and cursed? - wrote Fr. Joseph to his sister. – You show mercy, but they offend you? When they come to reprove you, they shout that you are deceived, they scream until the end of your life? And you know it's not what they say. And you see the temptation that drives them.
And you repent and cry like a guilty person. This is the hardest thing. Because they are at war with you, and you are at war with yourself in order to convince yourself that it is so, as people say, although it is not so. When you see that you are absolutely right and convince yourself that you are wrong. You beat yourself with a stick to convince yourself to call light darkness and darkness light. So that all rights are gone. And so that exaltation completely disappears, so that you become insane with full reason.”
For a long time, Frangiskos could not find an experienced spiritual mentor.
For a very long time he could not find an experienced confessor as a mentor. After which he decided to become a hermit. Simple local caves served as a haven for him to live.
He earned his living by various labors, he was engaged in the manufacture of brooms. Soon during his journey through the lands of Athos, the boy met a like-minded monk Arseny. And they soon together passed under the teaching and obedience of the Albanian elder, Ephraim of Katunaki.
Frangiskos and Arseny together came under the teaching and obedience of the Albanian elder - Ephraim of Katunaki
The mystery of man
Elder Joseph of Vatopedi (right) with a student.
Photo from theodromia.blogspot.com O. Joseph with Fr. Arseny never lived in the monasteries of Athos. Only in separate cells located far from all popular paths or, in extreme cases, hermitages. And when it became “noisy” there, they went to a new place.
No attention was paid to housekeeping or everyday life. They ate from cans and covered themselves with matting.
The main thing in life was praying the rosary - the Jesus Prayer. It is her Fr. Joseph considered it a very real “entrance”, even a flight into the upper world, protection in temptations, help in the fight against evil in oneself. It often took up to 10 hours. We prayed more at night.
Very strong and courageous, at the beginning of monastic life, even before tonsure, when Fr. Joseph lived alone, he suffered a lot from prodigal warfare. For eight years he slept standing or leaning on the arms of a chair like a stasidia.
In the past, Fr. Joseph had no experience of carnal life; he was a virgin in the full sense of the word. Despite this, it was the prodigal warfare that turned out to be difficult and long-lasting.
He ate dry bread, drank very little water, and most importantly prayed. From time to time, gracious help came, and then retreated, leaving him alone. For eight years, every night he suffered real martyrdom. One day I started crying: “What is this, God, I’m fighting so hard and not winning!”
In a moment of complete exhaustion, Fr. Joseph was sent blessed help - he ended up in Heaven, where he was met by the Mother of God with the Child Christ in her arms. The elder could not talk about this calmly until the end of his days. Then, as he told his disciples, he learned “the secret of man” - what he himself is:
“When grace comes to a person, it makes him a god. When he retreats, he is ready to accept any heresy, commit any crime.
If the grace of God leaves me, I will commit the worst crimes, because we have all the seeds, good and bad.
How many people cast out demons and then fell.”
After such a state, the respite lasted only a few days, and then the temptations became even stronger. And there was no one around who could help. On the contrary, other fathers, who had no experience of such supernatural struggles, said that he was in delusion. Therefore Fr. Joseph tried to avoid everyone.
Finally, after eight years of suffering, after particularly severe attacks and fervent prayer from Fr. Joseph saw with his own eyes the demon of fornication - a vile, small creature covered with sparse stubble, felt its touch on him and felt a terrible stench after the demon disappeared. Forever.
